Just a Little Love
by Estheim
Summary: Valentine's Day is closing in, and Yugi's been wondering if a confession will make all of his worries fade away. And what might White Day bring in response? Yami no Yuugi x Yuugi ... and others
1. Just a Little Affection

**Just a Little Love**   
Just a Little Affection   
by Josie

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. It could have been five minutes, or it could have been five hours. Time always seemed to pass at impossible rates whenever he watched his other self, and no matter how long he had like this, it never seemed to be quite enough. _Strange, the way it feels ..._ he thought, hand reaching towards the hair of the sleeping figure; he stopped short, just before he could actually touch it. His other self was a notoriously light sleeper, and the smallest sound, touch, or even shift in the air tended to wake him. 

It was a wonder that he hadn't woken upon Yuugi entering the room. 

When he slept, he was different, in a way. Yuugi wouldn't quite describe it as innocence; after all, he knew just how much his other self was a far cry from innocent. He pulled his hand back, just barely catching himself before he let out a despairing sigh. _Why is it that he can be so brilliant at times, and yet he's never seen what's right in front of him?_ Violet eyes watched as the other's chest rose and fell with even breaths, neither too deep nor too shallow; it was a direct contrast to his own erratic breathing right then. One moment, it was normal, the next, long and slow as he would feel the fear of his other self waking up. That was followed by a few moments of quickened, almost silently gasping breaths, before the cycle repeated itself. It was a pattern that he had grown all too familiar with. 

_Relaxed._ He smiled at the thought, watching the other's restfulness. _He's simply relaxed. Not a care in the world._ That, unfortunately, made him pull his feet onto the chair, drawing his knees to his chest. It's not fair. _Why doesn't he feel this way, too?_

He wanted nothing more than to shake the other awake, to beg him to hold him and say that he was in love, too. 

He knew, though; even just wishing for that was hoping for too much. His other self had always been perfect. He had a confidence and strength that Yuugi himself had never been able to match, that he _would_ never be able to match. There was a touch of arrogance in him, which Yuugi supposed was to be expected in a pharaoh; in others, the trait was repelling, but, in his other self's case, it was enrapturing. It pulled Yuugi in like nothing else ever could, and made him hang onto the other's every word and movement. 

Sometimes, he wanted to kick himself for being so much like a love-sick teenaged girl. And then he'd see those crimson eyes, and he'd forget all about the thought as he merrily lost himself in thoughts of staring at them all day, every day, for the rest of his life. 

It was probably stupid of him, in the first place. Falling in love tended to be just that, however. A person in love has the tendency to lose sense and reason, and will do just about anything for the one who holds his or her heart and attention. Yuugi had once sworn to never allow such a thing to happen to him. 

When he had fallen in love with his other self, however, it had all hit him so fast and so hard that he hadn't had a chance to counter it. Though, on nights like this one, when he was watching the former pharaoh sleep, oblivious to the world around him, Yuugi was able to admit to himself the truth that he tried so hard to fight: had he seen it coming, he still would not have tried to fight off his falling in love. 

There had been times when he had thought about mentioning it. Usually, the thought came to him late at night, when he was either in the comfort of his own bedroom, or sitting in Atemu's and watching him while the other was oblivious to his presence. Always, he fought down the urge with all that he had in him; he couldn't possibly hope that his other self would return the feelings. After all, the former pharaoh was strong, smart, and confident ... Yuugi couldn't possibly imagine what the other could possibly want with someone like him: insecure and mediocre at best. 

It had never really seemed to cause any trouble for their friendship, however. Atemu was always more than willing to jump in to protect his partner and best friend from anyone and anything. Yuugi recalled an instance where he had been lost in thought and accidentally walked into a wall; the whole incident still made him blush a beautiful and fiery red. Atemu had seen the small bruise on him that it had caused, and he had practically seen red, demanding to know how it had gotten there, prepared to exact revenge for someone hurting _his_ partner. 

The subdued and possibly even slightly ashamed look on his face when he heard what had happened had been perfectly priceless. And, for Yuugi, the entire ordeal had simply caused him to fall even more deeply in love. 

It hadn't even occurred to him, however, just what it could have meant; Atemu was always overprotective to a fault, nearly giving Kaiba a run for his money. Though, Yuugi knew, mentioning that fact to him would just cause his other self to sniff indignantly and almost pout as he responded with saying that he was in no means anywhere near Kaiba's level of invasive protection. Yuugi tended to look at him in amusement whenever the exchange occurred; it was usually after another of Atemu's rounds of enraged defense of Yuugi seemed to strip the teenager of what privacy he was able to actually procure. The worst had perhaps been the time when Atemu had gotten so worried about some bruises that Yuugi had gotten thanks to a random bout of clumsiness on his part that he wasn't allowed to be anywhere without his 'bodyguard.' It had been nothing short of disturbing to have Atemu waiting just outside of the bathroom while he was in it. 

Though, if he were honest with himself, Yuugi had also enjoyed the attention. It had allowed him to entertain thoughts of Atemu wanting him back. Those had all been systematically beaten down, however, when he realized just how lost in his fantasies he had become. 

It had recently gotten to a point where he'd _had_ to tell _someone_, just to get the matter off of his chest. On instinct, he'd run to Anzu, who had listened with an open ear as he went on and on about how wonderful he felt Atemu was. He hadn't noticed the almost smirking smile she'd had, a knowing look across her entire face; he'd been too wrapped up in his own thoughts. For her part, Anzu had listened very quietly the entire time, and then merely asked him what he wanted to know. After all, she'd pointed out, Yuugi seemed to know exactly what his feelings where, so he couldn't have gone to her to garner aid in that aspect. 

The afternoon's confession had been rewarded with Anzu giving him some ideas for how he could let Atemu know. Sadly, the more Yuugi spent time with his other self and the more than he admired him, the less he was able to actually bring himself to gather the courage required to actually put any of those ideas to use. _She'll probably give it to me for that,_ he mused. _And then she'll push me right at him while telling him **for** me that I'm in love with him. What was it that she'd said to me? 'Yuugi, your crush has gone on long enough without you telling him. You have to put your trust in how much you mean to him and just confess it already!'_ He smiled at the memory. _Anzu's right. I can't keep hiding this from him forever. He deserves to know ... I'm not being fair to him by keeping it a secret._

His eyes fell onto that resting face once again, enjoying how gentle his features became while he slept. He had wondered more than just a few times how his friends might react to discovering he had a crush on the former pharaoh; Anzu's reaction had told him that they had probably all known for a long time, and were wondering just when he'd get around to doing something about it. Still, he couldn't help but wonder to himself if they were repulsed by it. Granted, Anzu hadn't been, but she'd also been his best friend since childhood. She was always the first one to accept him and his actions. 

Well, aside from Atemu, that was. But, then, Atemu was different. 

It was maybe a little odd, however, when he thought about it. He had fallen in love with someone who looked so much like himself, some might call it narcissism. He'd actually wondered on it himself at first; when he'd discovered his feelings, he and Atemu had still been sharing his body. And, yet, he'd come to realize that it wasn't merely how the other looked that he'd fallen for. Rather, the looks were just a bonus to the entire package. It was his entire personality. Just the way he carried himself. 

Besides, especially now, they had a number of physical differences that hadn't been quite as obvious within Yuugi's body. Apparently, Atemu had been granted the chance to have his old appearance back; perfectly and permanently sun-kissed bronze settled over his entire body, and Yuugi felt that it was just to die for. And the fact that his hair was now tipped crimson instead of Yuugi's violet just brought out the former pharaoh's eyes even more. 

The sight was always more than enough to make Yuugi melt on the spot. 

Still, even beyond the two major differences that had popped up in Atemu's new body, Yuugi was able to point out every minor detail of difference between them. It was almost like some strange talent by now. He'd actually nearly frightened his friends once with a rather vivid description of those differences when they'd said that the two could pass for twins; except for Atemu, who had seemed more than pleased with the fact that Yuugi had noticed every minor detail. 

He hadn't thought anything of it, hadn't _allowed_ himself to think anything of it. After all, that would just be getting his hopes up needlessly. Atemu had only been so pleased with Yuugi's attention for detail because it showed just how alike the two of them were in that respect; it told him that Yuugi truly was his prot�g� of sorts. Yuugi had long since discovered that Atemu thoroughly enjoyed thinking of him in that regard. And, for his part, Yuugi had done his best to snuff out as many of his fantasies about just why Atemu would want to think of him in such a way. He couldn't allow himself that distant delusion that Atemu only thought of him that way because he really wanted something more. 

Getting your hopes up to only be let down hard was one of the worst feelings in the world, and Yuugi knew it. 

His eyes rested on the sleeping figure again, and he cleared his mind, not wanting to think too much; he'd come to a decision that day. He was going to take Anzu's advice and just tell Atemu how he felt already. It would be sometime after morning, however. He needed time to prepare just how he was going to go about it. He had a rough idea � he was taking one of the suggestions she had made � but it would take a lot of steeling his courage to actually go through with it, in the end. 

Slowly, he got up, ready to make his way to his bedroom and get some rest. He was going to need it, after all, and he couldn't very well stay up the entire night just watching Atemu sleep. 

And so, he didn't notice the small smile creep its way onto the former pharaoh's face, and he didn't realize that, the entire time he had been there, his other self had not been sleeping at all. 

- - -

He was lounging on one of the living chairs, one leg hanging over the arm rest as he sat diagonally in the chair. It was, after all, his favorite position for reading, and he was currently engrossed in a book detailing the rise and fall of Napoleon. All in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty good day so far. It was quiet � just the perfect condition for his reading � and he had all of the time that he wanted to do whatever he felt like. 

Well, as long as what he felt like didn't involve going into the kitchen, in any event. He had attempted to go in earlier to get a glass of water, and had been promptly kicked out by Yuugi, with a threat that, if he tried to step foot in there again, he'd be facing a very uncomfortable night. For his part, Atemu didn't put it past his partner to actually make good on the threat, and had slowly backed away, returning to his favored living chair to continue reading. 

Since then, he had found himself mixing thoughts of just what Yuugi was doing in there into his reading. He was sure he had heard a few curses floating from that general area every now and again. But, as he had been threatened with certain doom � likely, Yuugi kicking him out of the house for an hour at most � if he were to go into the kitchen again, he had forced the curiosity out of his head, and returned to reading about the one-time French ruler's failed attempts at conquering Russia. 

His fascination with history seemed to bring unending amusement to Yuugi and their friends. The way that any person might eat up all manner of fiction, Atemu had come to display an unending thirst for all historical information, catching up on what he had missed over three thousand years. He spent hours every day wrapped up in the words of his books, usually while Yuugi was at school, and his partner almost never missed an opportunity to make jokes because of it. 

As though it was _his_ fault that he'd missed so much. 

Some days, though, it seemed like the jokes were more forced than others; and, some days, the jokes seemed as though they were worded specifically to hurt him. It wasn't really like Yuugi to be like that so openly � usually, if he was making a jarring comment about someone, it was done where he was almost positive they wouldn't hear so as not to offend them, as much as that was equally as rude. But, then, he'd never had any false perceptions of Yuugi being perfectly innocent. He knew that his partner was able to be just as vicious as the so-called big dogs, if and when he wanted to be. Not that it stopped him from wanting to protect the teenager. 

Still, when Yuugi would glare at him and yell at him for spending more time with his books than with Yuugi himself, or viciously bite out that the books were obviously Atemu's best friends now, so why should he bother wasting his time with the former pharaoh, it cut into him like the sharpest of knives. Atemu wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. He had never meant to worry or upset his partner, nor had he ever wanted to make Yuugi feel like he didn't care about him first and foremost. 

Which, of course, made the entire situation all the more confusing to him. Yuugi knew exactly how Atemu felt, he was sure. After all, he could have sworn that he'd always kept himself as a practically open book for the boy. He didn't like keeping secrets from Yuugi; even when he tried, his partner always managed to find out what he was hiding, anyway, so it was pointless in the end. To have Yuugi keeping a secret from him seemed cruel and unusual. 

The problem was, no matter what Yuugi _knew_, the fact remained that Atemu was simply bad with words when it came to telling Yuugi everything. Games, he could do. Taunting, he could do. Expressing how much someone meant to him, on the other hand, was almost a complete mystery to him. He supposed it came from the fact that he had never really needed to bother with such things in the past. 

Which, of course, made the situation neither better nor worse, and Yuugi seemed to grow more distant with each passing day. Except, strangely, at night, when he would sneak into Atemu's bedroom. A few times, the former pharaoh had wondered if he should perhaps let Yuugi know that he didn't need to sneak around so much when he came for his late-night visits; he'd known about them from the start. However, he had come to realize that Yuugi seemed to enjoy just watching him sleep. That had been when he had started feigning perfect sleep whenever Yuugi came in to watch. He had always sat there in silence, never moving too much, except to perhaps reach out for a touch that he would never actually go through with before retracting his hand. He just sat there in silent contemplation. 

That had grated on Atemu's nerves even more, not because of Yuugi's actions, but because he just could not stand having no idea what his partner was doing or thinking. Not that he would ever openly admit such a thing. Doing so would only cause Yuugi to make jokes about how he was turning into Kaiba more and more every day. _As if I don't have enough things to disturb me ..._

He sighed, closing his book and placing it onto the coffee table before straightening himself on the chair and leaning back, trying to relax. It wouldn't do him much good to lose himself in thoughts of what Yuugi could possibly be doing to himself. If there was something truly wrong, he knew that his partner would come to him and talk to him about it. If someone were hurting him, or if he was upset over something, Atemu would be the first person that he would run to. That, in itself, was more than enough to comfort his thoughts, and he closed his eyes, merely thinking of what he could do to get Yuugi to open up a little more about what was wrong lately. 

Almost as though summoned by Atemu's thought processes, a pair of familiar arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind, and he felt something press into his left shoulder. Moisture met his skin, and he frowned, looking over to see Yuugi leaning over the back of his chair, crying. _This isn't good ..._ Slowly, he reached one of his arms up, hand closing around Yuugi's wrists where they met in front of him. _Who hurt him?_ It was the first thought through his mind, and it would have possibly amused him had he not been so worried about Yuugi's wellbeing. His free hand moved up to gently stroke Yuugi's hair as he whispered to his partner, "Shh ... it's alright now. There's no need for you to cry, little one." But, instead of being comforted, he felt his partner's smaller body shake as a sob ripped from him. "Yuugi ..." He tugged on one of the boy's arms, managing to get him to move, slowly, gently, until Yuugi had come around the chair and settled into Atemu's lap. Bronzed fingers gently brushed through silken, violet-tipped ebony hair. Aside from gentle whispers every here and there, and the small whimpers and sniffles coming from the crying teenager, the two sat in silence; comforter and comforted. 

As Yuugi's shaking stopped, and as his tears lessened, Atemu murmured carefully, "Yuugi, I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." Not moving from where he rested with his face buried into Atemu's shirt, Yuugi responded; the words were muffled, and Atemu laughed gently. "You need to move back some so that I can understand you, my partner." Soft touches to Yuugi's shoulder, laden with infinite care, finally got the boy to pull back ever-so-slightly. A pout marred his beautiful face. 

"I burned the cookies." 

Atemu blinked, staring at Yuugi as though he had grown a second head somewhere along the line. In all of the time that he had known the other, he had seen Yuugi get upset over man things, but never had his reasons been something as simple as burnt cookies. "So ... you're crying because you ... burnt ... the cookies." It took all that he had to say the words with a straight face. He was rewarded by Yuugi hitting him gently before burying his face back into Atemu's shirt. For everything he had in him, Atemu could have sworn Yuugi looked as though he never wanted to move from that position ever again. "Yuugi ..." There was no response, and he sighed. "Perhaps you'd like to explain to me why these cookies are so important?" 

Yuugi shook his head, and Atemu tightened his hold on the boy comfortingly. "Please tell me, Yuugi." 

Another sniffle. Yuugi pulled back some again, tears shining in his large, trusting violet eyes. Atemu knew that look; he could have spotted it from anywhere. Whatever Yuugi was about to tell him was extremely important to him, and how he responded would likely determine if he'd be seeing Yuugi smile again anytime in the foreseeable future. His right hand slowly rubbed his partner's back soothingly, gently coaxing the teenager to speak, to confess what was on his mind. "They were for you ... Anzu said I should make them. She said they'd help me tell you, and I ... and I ruined them!" 

_Ah, so **that's** what it is ..._ He'd had a notion that it had something to do with Yuugi's feelings for him, but he hadn't wanted to jump the gun with his speculations. He smiled gently, lifting Yuugi into his arms as he stood; a soft squeak greeted his ears as he began walking purposefully towards the kitchen, Yuugi held gently in his arms. _If it's the cookies that are the problem, then I'll just have to eliminate that fear._ He settled his partner onto the counter before looking around the room; his eyes quickly landed on his target, and he moved to it. 

"Atemu ... Atemu, don't!" Yuugi's words reached him as he picked up one of the cookies from the plate that was settled on the table. The former pharaoh chose to ignore them, going back to Yuugi, cookie in hand. He looked right into his partner's eyes, not speaking, raising the cookie to his lips. Yuugi tried again. "My other self, please, they're ... they're going to be awful. Burned cookies always -" 

But he was cut off by Atemu simply taking one step closer, so that Yuugi's knees brushed against him. He took a bite, and Yuugi winced. The smaller of the two waited until the other swallowed before asking cautiously, "Why?" No further words were necessary in his question. 

Atemu simply looked at him, a small smile playing at his lips. Crimson eyes danced with mirth, and Yuugi looked away, feeling tears stinging at his own eyes again. "They are perfect, Yuugi." The words were whispered, feather-light. "Because they were made by the one that I love, they are perfect." A soft gasp escaped him as he snapped his head back around, violet eyes wide as he stared at the former pharaoh. Atemu simply smiled, moving one step closer and reaching up to wrap an arm around Yuugi's waist. 

It all seemed to happen on its own. One second, he was sitting upright, and, in the next, he was leaning himself closer to the one person who he had lusted after for so long. He felt his heart skipping a beat as his eyes closed; soft, gentle lips brushed against his own, lightly at first. It was almost as though Atemu were questioning him on if he wanted to do this. A soft whimper of approval escaped him, unbidden, and he felt his other self's lips press more firmly upon him. His legs wrapped around the lithe chest of the one he loved, and he felt himself being pulled away from the counter, slowly sliding down Atemu's body until his legs came to a rest around a thin waist. Still, the kiss showed no signs of ending; rather, it seemed as though Atemu was deepening it impossibly further, and Yuugi felt his thoughts whirl about in his head. Even his wildest dreams had never felt quite this powerful or amazing. 

When they parted, it was with reluctance, and Atemu slowly helped Yuugi untangle himself so that he could stand once more. He smiled kindly at his partner as the boy clung to him for balance, afraid to trust his own legs to hold him up after what had occurred. "Atemu ..." A finger was placed to his lips, and the former pharaoh simply shook his head. Yuugi felt his cheeks burn with a gentle, warm blush, and he pressed closer, hugging his other self, the other half to his soul, and pressing his face into a perfectly-sculpted shoulder. "I love you." The words were whispered just loud enough for Atemu alone to hear. 

Fingers brushed through his hair, and he sighed contentedly. "I've loved you from almost the moment we became aware of each other." Yuugi felt his breath catch in his throat at hearing the words that his other self had whispered; words that he had dreamed of hearing for so many months now. "Happy Valentine's Day, Yuugi." His cheek rested against the top of Yuugi's head, and he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of having the boy snuggled up against him. 

They stayed that way for a while, neither wanting to break the embrace. Finally, Atemu pulled back some, looking down into Yuugi's eyes, an amused smirk tugging at his mouth; his eyes gleamed mischievously. "So, then. What do you say we make a new batch?" 

"Together this time?" Yuugi asked hopefully. A nod in response, and he smiled, tears of joy falling from his eyes. Atemu reached up to wipe them away, leaning in to place another gentle kiss on petal-soft lips before the two moved to study the recipe for the cookies that Yuugi had attempted to make earlier. 

- - -

They should have known it would end up as it did; baking while trying to remain attached to someone tends to create less food and more mess. But, despite the cookie dough winding up mostly smudged along Yuugi's face at random intervals, placed there expertly by Atemu whenever the boy looked away and then quickly licked away, they enjoyed themselves. After all, it was that they were together that was the most important, not the final product of their baking. 

Or so Yuugi kept telling himself that night in the shower, as he managed to get the final bits of cookie dough from his hair. A fond smile touched his lips, and he felt a purely mischievous idea work its way through his head. Oh, payback will be sweet, he thought to himself as he turned off the water, reaching for his towel. 

His eyes became impossibly wide as the towel brought a person with it. A person who suddenly had him pressed against the wall of the shower in a kiss that stole his breath from him. "Couldn't stay away, could you?" he asked when Atemu finally pulled back. His breath was coming in short gasps, and he felt himself laboring against his own wishes to throw himself at the former pharaoh for another kiss, deeper this time. 

A mysterious smile played at that handsome face, and Yuugi felt his heart melt. "Maybe." He pulled the towel from Yuugi, gently drying the boy off before wrapping the towel around his partner's waist carefully. 

Before Yuugi could react, he found himself lifted into strong arms, and he was being carried down the hall, to the bedroom next to his own. _I'm going to have to thank Anzu for the idea tomorrow ..._ The thought ran through his mind as the door closed, and he quickly found himself tossing all others aside as he was laid on Atemu's bed for what was likely to be the first of many great rests for a long time to come. His arms wrapped around his other self's waist, and he felt those powerful arms wrap around him, pulling him closer, before his eyes closed, and he let himself drift off to sleep with a content smile. 

- - -

**Disclaimer:** Yuugiou is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi. I do not claim any right to the series or its characters, and I should probably apologize for the hell I'm likely to be putting them through in this story.   
**Author's Note:** Just a random little Valentine's Day 2005 story. I was actually planning on my story for this year being one of my longer (and possibly more amusing) works, but that didn't pan out very well ... so, instead, I'll give a bit of Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi having a cute little Valentine's Day. A major part of why I ended up doing this story instead of any other (and why I haven't begun chapter 4 of If the World Doesn't Want Me yet) is due to my getting completely bulldozed by illness. I haven't been able to really keep my wits about my much, and my head has been flying like you wouldn't believe (which is bad for writing, but, ironically, great for getting ideas). You know it's bad when you have to restart a fluffy story five times because you just weren't able to get your head straight in order to get it to even remotely make sense. 


	2. Just a Little Romance

**Just a Little Love**   
Just a Little Romance   
by Josie

He stood there, staring at the store as though he were a fish out of water. _He has got to be kidding me if he thinks that I'm going to step foot in there._ He warily eyed the large, cartoon-like bears sitting on either side of the entrance, frowning deeply; his gaze then shifted to the center of the entrance, where a young boy stood with his hands on his hips, deep blue eyes glaring in his direction. 

"If you don't hurry up and get in here, I swear that I'll get those bodyguards my brother has trail around after me actually _do_ something and drag you in here!" he threatened, not changing his position at all. Crimson eyes, looked above the boy again, and he scrunched his nose in distaste at the neon lettering merrily twinkling the words 'KaibaBear Workshop' for all the world - or, at the very least, all of the people who had decided to shop in this particular mall - to see. His gaze shifted down to the boy again, just in time to see him raise a hand to brush some of his long, black hair out of his face with mild frustration; apparently Kaiba Mokuba was as easy to agitate as his older brother when one didn't do as the boy wished. 

"I'm not quite sure that Yuugi will ... want this," he said finally, still not moving. Mokuba shifted before looking at him in confusion, turning his head to look up at the words of the shop sign that he wouldn't be able to read from his position. He blinked a few times before looking back at the young man who was still refusing to move any closer to the store. 

"What are you talking about? Who _wouldn't_ want a KaibaBear?" 

He raised an eyebrow at the boy, crossing his arms over his chest as an amused smirk crossed his features. "You seem to forget the kinds of trouble and arguments that your brother has caused for us, Mokuba," he said, voice filled with amusement; he laughed when he saw the young boy stick his tongue out at him. "Calm down, I'm only joking. Well, partly." He winked, and Mokuba seemed to grow even more impatient. A sigh escaped him before he spoke again. "Fine, I'll come in. I suppose it won't do any harm to see what this ... place has to offer." 

"You should be a little more grateful, you know," Mokuba retorted as Atemu slowly walked towards him - and, consequentially, the store. An elegant, ebony eyebrow raised slightly at the comment as Atemu turned fiery, blood-red eyes to him, and Mokuba turned and started to head inside, speaking over his shoulder as he did so, "You asked for help on what to get for Yuugi, and no one else was able to come up with any ideas. Besides, _I_ think that it's the perfect gift." 

"You would. Your brother did make these stores _for_ you, after all." Mokuba turned to glare at him, but the former pharaoh just stood there eyeing him evenly. "Whatever, let's just get this over with already. This place gives me the creeps," he commented with a shudder, and the younger of the Kaiba brothers laughed. 

It had been an adventure getting Atemu to actually go with him, if he was to be honest. The teenager had been adamant about not going to such a childish store to find a gift for his beloved, and had insisted upon practically begging his friends for ideas. Unfortunately for him, even Anzu had been at a loss on what he could possibly give to Yuugi as a return gift for White Day, and Mokuba's idea had eventually won out - mainly due to the fact that Anzu had mentioned that a stuffed animal would be a fairly heart-warming gift to receive from a loved one. Atemu had figured that, if any of them would know what a person - particularly Yuugi - would like to receive as a gift from his (or her) boyfriend, Anzu would. She had known Yuugi the longest out of all of them, after all, and she had allegedly received more than her fair share of return gifts on the previous year's White Day, as well as a number of gifts recently from a secret admirer. Or so Jounouchi had reported. Atemu was sometimes unsure of if he should believe the blonde's reports on the matter, however, as he seemed to insist that Anzu was in some secret relationship, as well. 

The former pharaoh did have to admit - albeit a bit grudgingly - that the idea was better than some that had been suggested. For instance, Otogi's suggestion to have Yuugi's room filled with flowers had been both overdone and bordering on insane. When informed of Atemu's opinion on his suggestion, Otogi had snapped that if he didn't want to accept the advice, he shouldn't have even asked for it. Jounouchi's suggestion had been almost equally outlandish, in Atemu's eyes; he wasn't quite sure that Yuugi would appreciate the bold gesture of Atemu professing his undying love via skywriting. After all, his little one was still a bit on the shy end of the spectrum, despite some of his more vivid thoughts, and such an action would only serve to embarrass his partner, causing him to pull away more than Atemu would like. It could have been worse, he supposed; they could have all reacted the way that Ryou had; their poor white-haired friend had turned bright red at being asked for gift ideas, and was unable to stammer out an answer as he ducked his head back down towards the sheet of paper on the desk in front of him. No one had bothered to see who he was writing a letter to, although Jounouchi had again piped up with some speculations that it was bound for Egypt. The comments had caused Ryou to blush again, and he had smacked the blonde's arm quickly before practically diving to cover the letter. 

Unfortunately, the ideas _had_ gone from bad to terribly worse when Kaiba had proposed that he give Yuugi a tracking device so that Atemu would be able to find him regardless of where he was. He had looked at the young CEO as though he had completely lost his mind when the other had finished his statement and given him a look that just dared to have someone disagree with his amazing idea. The former pharaoh had been more than happy to comply; he was just exceedingly grateful that Mokuba at least had more human ideas than his older brother. 

The only one that was still a mystery to him was, of course, Honda's proposal; mainly because no one had been able to _hear_ what his was. He had mumbled it so low, so quickly, that the words had been little more than a hum. The only real indication that he had said anything at all was the deep blush that had formed over his cheeks as soon as he had finished; Atemu could have sworn that he'd noticed the brunette glance towards Anzu for the shortest of moments after he'd spoken - if what he'd done could be called speaking - but the movement had been so quick that he wasn't sure if it was just his mind playing tricks on him or not. 

He was shaken out of the memories as Mokuba tugged on his arm, pulling him towards what he could only describe as deflated balls of fluff. He looked at them worriedly before Mokuba poked him and said, "Choose one." He noticed that the boy was pointing to the small shelves above the bins of deflated fluff, where filled stuffed animals had been placed; it took only a moment for him to realize that those were models of what the ones in the bin would end up looking like. He inspected each one carefully before one in particular caught his eye. It was a bear with soft 'fur' the same golden bronze as his skin; its eyes were even the same piercing, fiery crimson as his own. If one looked closely enough, they might even find that it seemed to have a self-confident smirk playing at its stitched mouth. He smirked, moving forward and picking up one of the unfilled shells for that particular one, knowing that it had to be that specific bear. No other would suffice, since he wanted this gift to remind Yuugi of him as much as possible. 

Immediately, Mokuba was latched onto his hand again, dragging him off to the opposite side of the store before he could so much as form the slightest sound of protest. He found himself standing before some strange contraptions with windows that allowed customers to see endless mounds of white fluff. An attendant asked for the bear shell that he was holding, and he gave it up without protest, watching as the attendant then placed a small tube that was attached to the contraption into the back of the shell and turned on the machine, filling the little bear with its stuffing. When they closed it up and handed it to back to him, he was rather pleased to note that it was neither too soft, nor too firm; he decided that it was, in fact, just the perfect amount of filling for Yuugi to snuggle against whenever he wanted to. 

His eyes quickly scanned the store after that, knowing that part of the purpose of these KaibaBears was that customers could dress the bears however they wanted. Indeed, there seemed to be a multitude of clothing in the back of the shop to choose from, with a variety of accessories, as well. He started to step towards that area of the store, only to once again be stopped by Mokuba, who was now looking at him with the most annoyed expression that his features could pull off. Needless to say, it was none too intimidating, but Atemu decided to humor him, raising an eyebrow in question. 

"Don't even bother with those," the boy said, crooking a finger in a motion for Atemu to follow him as he started towards one of the cashiers. The former pharaoh wiped the confusion from his features just as they reached the counter, and the younger Kaiba looked at the young man behind it and said evenly in what Atemu would call a commendable impersonation of Kaiba Seto if he didn't know Mokuba quite as well as he did, "I trust that the outfit that I asked to have created is here." The cashier nodded and picked up a box from behind him, handing it to Mokuba. The boy looked inside and nodded in satisfaction before turning to Atemu and placing the box in the stunned teenager's hands. "That's what you'll be using." 

He looked inside of it warily, not quite sure of what to expect. It took only one glance for his eyes to widen, before a smirk settled onto his lips once more. "It's perfect; exactly what this needs in order to be a gift worthy of Yuugi." 

- - -

Yuugi sighed as he walked into school that day. Atemu had been acting strange since he had returned home the night before, hurrying into his room and locking the door behind him before Yuugi could so much as catch a glimpse at him. The elder teenager had emerged a few minutes later, after much thumping and cursing had been heard from within, pulling Yuugi into a tight embrace and kissing the tip of his nose. It had been unnerving, to say the least, and Yuugi couldn't help but wonder just what was going on with the man that he still found himself referring to as his other self, despite Atemu's insistence that there was only _one_ Yuugi. Yuugi's response was always that old habits die hard. 

The strange behavior had continued into the morning, when Atemu had greeted him downstairs with a very warm, healthy western-style breakfast that had left Yuugi more than just slightly confused; he had no idea when Atemu had looked into cooking, nor when he had decided to figure out how to prepare pancakes - which, Yuugi had noted, tasted very much like they were made from scratch and not straight out of some box with the ingredients prepared already. Along with the pancakes had been an almost insane supply of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries for him to place onto them, as well as syrup that seemed to be a blend of all three that he noted also tasted curiously fresh. Though, if Yuugi was honest with himself, what had been the most amusing to him had been Atemu standing there wearing an apron, with a small bit of the pancake batter smudged over his left cheek. 

It had been positively delicious, Yuugi had to admit. However, it still made him extremely suspicious of the other's actions; it had only been as he was on the way to school that he'd thought to look at the calendar for any hints as to the odd behavior. By that point, it had been too late. 

Arriving at his shoe locker, he opened it cautiously, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that perhaps he was merely overreacting to everything. _Maybe I'm just reading into things ..._ he thought as he switched his outdoor shoes with his indoor ones, closing the locker before starting for his homeroom. He smiled at Anzu as they reached the door at the same time, complimenting her on the dozen rather impressive long-stemmed, white roses that she carried along with what looked to be a custom-made compact disc. He did not fail to note the blush that graced her features as he commented on the gifts that she received, and he noticed that she carefully tucked the card that he could only assume had come with them away.. As they turned into the room, Yuugi caught the briefest glance at the calendar. He was unable to register what he saw before someone squealed his name, causing him to jump and turn towards them. It was one of the girls in the class � Mizukoe Rieko, he noted � and she was yelling something that sounded like a demand to know 'who it was.' Yuugi was very confused, and he tilted his head to the side just as the crowd - comprised mainly of girls, he noted - that seemed to be gathered around _his_ desk parted, revealing a rather extravagantly-dressed teddy bear. 

A deep blush found its way to his cheeks as he stared at a crimson-eyed bear staring at him, wearing a _very_ familiar crown on its head. He carefully stepped towards his desk, picking the stuffed animal up with the utmost consideration, eyeing the soft, cream-colored tunic that reached the sitting bear's mid-thigh, with a blue cloth coming down between its legs, fastened around the waist by gold bands. Similar bands were around the bear's calves and ankles, with white, closed sandals adorning its feet; a golden breastplate was covered by a deep, royal violet - _Phoenician purple,_ he thought to himself - cape that flowed freely at the bear's back. A single gold band wrapped around each of the bear's "biceps," with similar bands around its neck, and intricately-detailed golden cuffs on its wrists. He also took note of the long earrings that seemed to clip in two places on each of the bear's ears, with a small loop off of the clasps that gave way to an ankh, which was attached to a detailed rectangle. And, of course, _that_ crown; a golden crown with beautiful wings and the Eye of Horus at its center, seemingly representing the sun itself just as the man who had worn the one that this crown was a replica of had essentially been a representation of it. Atemu's crown; rather, it was Atemu's entire outfit from when he had been pharaoh of Kemet, merely miniaturized to fit a beautiful little teddy bear that was the color of his sun-kissed golden skin, with those enthralling crimson eyes and that confident smirk that was just so very much Yuugi's other self. 

It was then that his mind finally processed what it had seen on the calendar, that it was March 14 ... White Day. Everything snapped into place, and of course he knew who it was from; how could he not, after all, when the bear was practically the stuffed animal version of the man that he loved, along with the fact that Atemu was the only person that Yuugi had given anything to for Valentine's Day? His eyes fell onto the envelope that the bear was sitting upon, and he reached for it, wanting to read it more for its content than anything else, although his classmates assumed that it was to find out who the gift was from. He felt someone nudge him from behind as he started to open the envelope, and turned to see Anzu looking at him with a knowing grin. He vainly fought down his blush as he pulled the card out, violet eyes scanning over the words as though they were food for his soul. 

_My beloved Yuugi - _

I'll assume that, if you're reading this, you have received my gift to you. As much as I know that we have spent this past blissful month together, I felt that it would only be appropriate to give an official return gift for the wonderful gesture that you made to me on Valentine's Day. It is, after all, the custom, is it not? 

I love you with the intensity of a thousand flames, and my love for you will never die out. 

Forever yours,   
Atemu 

His blush deepened as he quickly closed the card before anyone could look over his shoulder to read it, hastily stuffing it back into the envelope and hiding it in his bag. Placing his bag on the hook at the side of his desk, he reverently picked the stuffed bear up from where it sat on his desk, smiling fondly at it before closing his eyes and nuzzling his nose up against the soft 'fur' of its face. _I love you, Atemu,_ he though, willing the voice of his mind to get the thought to his boyfriend and other half; the soft touches of affection that he felt in return told him that his words had reached the other, and he smiled to himself as he slipped into his chair, placing the bear on his lap as some of the girls cooed over how adorable it was, and how it was just so fitting that Yuugi would get such a cute gift. 

He continued to blush, holding the bear close, as his friends crowded around him, making small comments about how such a romantic gift seemed to bee almost out of character for Atemu. Yuugi brushed the comments off and stuck his tongue out at them, before Ryou commented quietly, "I think it's sweet that he went through the trouble, though. It must be nice to have someone that cares about you like that ..." He trailed off, blushing as he looked away before continuing, "But ... wasn't it so embarrassing to get all of that attention on you for receiving such a gift, Yuugi-kun?" 

Yuugi tilted his head to the side for a moment, and then shook his head with a smile. "A little, I guess, but ... I don't mind too much. I mean ... he loves me, and that's all that matters, right?" Before anyone could respond, their teacher walked in, and everyone in the class had to take their seats as a day of lessons began. 

- - -

The day had turned out interesting after that, to say the least; Yuugi supposed that he should have been ready for anything to happen when, during lunch, Anzu had gone up to Honda and kissed his cheek, causing the boy to turn an interesting shade of embarrassed red that Yuugi was sure even he would never be able to match. That had, of course, caused Jounouchi to immediately shoot up out of his seat, mouth opening and closing like a fish stranded out of water as he turned his head back and forth between Anzu and Honda, finally managing out, "You ... and ... and you ... _you_ were the one who's been sending all of those gifts to her!" The words were followed by a quick whap to the back of his head as Anzu sat beside the other brunette. 

"You act as though, just because you didn't know, I didn't know," she retorted, poking her tongue out before looking over at Honda, cerulean eyes sparkling some. "I just hid the cards because he didn't want everyone to know." 

"What are you trying to say here ...?" Yuugi had almost laughed at the blank expression on Jounouchi's face; Otogi, on the other hand, had laughed outright, especially when Honda turned to him in frustration and practically barked out that he and Anzu had been together for the past three months. _That_ had broken Yuugi's hold on his giggles - and, apparently, it had done the same for the rest of his friends, as they all collapsed into their respective laughter as the tension broke. 

No one had noticed just how reserved Ryou's had been, however; their poor, perpetually shy friend had been plagued the entire day by the girls who had latched onto him when he had first transferred to the school back in the fall semester of their first year. The small fan club had, of course, sent him gifts on Valentine's Day, which he had been much too polite to give back to them. Thus, the girls had been dogging him the entire day, eager to know just who he would be giving a return gift to. For most of the day, he had been successful in avoiding them, mainly through hiding behind his friends at every chance that he could get. 

Unfortunately, as the final bell for the day had run, and he was switching to his outdoor shoes, the girls cornered him, demanding to know who would be getting the return gift from him. He blushed a deep crimson, waving his hands apologetically - although his friends could tell that it was also his feeble attempt at protecting himself - as the girls bickered over just who among them _deserved_ to be with the adorable Bakura Ryou. 

They were cut off as someone much taller than them pushed past, carefully swaying slim hips so as not to touch a single one of the girls as pale lavender eyes looked at them in contempt before turning all attention to the nervous wreck that Ryou had become. A grin graced his lips, and one dark, perfectly tanned hand reached up, brushing platinum blonde hair over his shoulder before he slammed said hand onto the lockers, just slightly to the side of Ryou's face. Brown eyes widened considerably in fear before he realized just who this was that was leaning closer to him so intimately. 

A muffled squeak escaped Ryou as the newcomer pressed their lips together tightly in a deep, soul-searching kiss. Everyone in the immediate area stopped dead, watching as the two boys shared a kiss that was so intimate that it truly belonged behind closed doors; anyone could tell that the blonde had managed to work his tongue into the shy, white-haired teenager's mouth and was busy exploring every last crevice. 

The girls that he had so quickly disregarded seemed to make some strange, foreign squeaking noise before one of them erupted with a quick, "That's so cute! Bakura-kun really _does_ have a boyfriend!" 

That had, of course, caused Ryou to immediately pull his head back and stare at them, eyes impossibly wider than they had been when the blonde male had pinned him against the lockers. "Wh-what do you mean, I really have a ... a ..." He blushed again, looking to the left, then down. _Can't look at him ... he might disappear ..._

"Everyone's been talking about how you're _so_ pretty, Bakura-kun, that you just had to be attached to a boy!" He flinched at how excited the girls seemed about that fact; granted, they were correct, he had been attached to a boy - a boy that he could have sworn was not interested in him until this very open display - but he had been so sure that he had hidden that fact so well from the public eye. 

A rich chuckle met him, and he quickly snapped his head up to find himself staring into amused lavender eyes. "Attached to me, hm?" came a silken, accented voice, and Ryou felt himself blushing all over again as one tanned arm snaked around his waist, pulling him flush against the newcomer. "I would never have guessed it," he said, voice filled with mirth. "I mean, all of those letters couldn't have given any hints to me ..." He winked, turning Ryou's resolve into fine powder. 

"Malik, I ..." He blushed again, resting his head on the Egyptian boy's shoulder. "Why are you here ...?" 

"Someone gave me a tip that you might like to have me here today, since you sent me that crystal phoenix last month," he said mysteriously before looking over towards where Yuugi stood with the rest of their friends, and Ryou's eyes widened once more as a soft laugh escaped him before he could stifle it. 

Yuugi looked at the two in confusion before a pair of warm arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him back against a firm body; lips pressed against his left ear, and he closed his eyes contentedly. "Atemu ..." he whispered, and he felt the other nod slightly. "You told Malik to come here, then?" Another nod, and Yuugi laughed softly. "Playing matchmaker, are we?" 

"Well, I figured that Ryou deserved a chance at happiness," came the simple reply as Atemu turned Yuugi around and placed a soft kiss on the boy's lips. "Much as you deserve all of the happiness that the world has to offer, little one." He smiled as Yuugi wrapped his arms around his shoulders, brushing gentle kisses along the smaller teenager's cheek. "Did you like your gift?" 

"Mm, very much so." 

Atemu chuckled softly. "I suppose that I'll have to thank Mokuba for that, then." Yuugi raised an eyebrow at him, and he laughed at the confused expression. "I needed suggestions for what to get for you," he said sheepishly, "and Mokuba was the one who gave the best one." Yuugi wrapped his arms even more tightly around Atemu at the confession, only to be pulled into a kiss by the former Pharaoh. "I'm glad that I could give you a nice day, Yuugi." 

"You gave me a scare, that's what you did," his partner retorted, smacking him playfully on the arm. "I had no idea _what_ was going on with your strange behavior." 

"Mm, is that so?" he asked, amused. "Perhaps I should make that up to you, then?" 

"Does this mean I get more pancakes?" Rich laughter billowed out from the taller of the two, and all eyes turned to them; Yuugi ducked his head in embarrassment, burrowing himself as far into his other self as he could possibly manage. "I enjoyed them," he finished almost inadequately. 

Gentle fingers brushed through his hair, and he purred softly, perfectly content in his love's arms. "I'm glad," Atemu whispered softly into his ear before lifting him up into his arms. "But, now we should be getting you home, little one. After all, our day is not quite over." Violet eyes turned to him in shock as Atemu began the trek home, Yuugi nestled safely in his arms. 

It had been a White Day filled with more surprises than Yuugi and his friends had ever truly expected. However, they all had to admit, when all was said and done, that the surprises were all rather pleasant, and the day had turned out to be quite enjoyable, indeed. 

- - -

**Disclaimer:** Yuugiou is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi. I do not claim any right to the series or its characters, and I should probably apologize for the hell I'm likely to be putting them through in this story.   
**Author's Note:** I had this image in my head of the events of the first scene for this, and I was just completely unable to shake it. That's partly where this entire thing came from, I guess you could say, but it's also to have a nice little White Day story for this year. 


End file.
